After a working stint in Atlanta for the past five months, I returned to Pagosa Springs (one version of heaven) and soon accepted a job in Jacksonville Beach, Florida (there’s always another heaven, it seems…).

So in the past week, I’ve driven from the semi arid, freezing (-28F in January) mountains (el. 7,000 feet) to the very flat, humid and hot beaches and marshes of north Florida (el. 14 feet). Along the way I’ve passed through the dustbowl of the Texas panhandle (BIG dust devils dissolving just short of the highway!) and the flooded and sometimes devastated plains of Oklahoma and Arkansas…

The warm company of dear family and friends have punctuated this journey of extremes… Waking hours have featured dream-like sequences of sights, thoughts and sensations, while dreams themselves have carried me into new yet familiar settings and companions.

How would I summarize what this feels like? Wonder and gratitude.

I feel blessed by the adventure of this life. May everyone enjoy this sense of peace, resolve, and optimism.